Oxidative stress in patients with cardiovascular disease and chronic renal failure.
Oxidative response regulates many physiological response in human health, but if not properly regulated it could also lead to a number of deleterious effects. The importance of oxidative stress injury depends on the molecular target, the severity of the stress, and the mechanism by which the oxidative stress is imposed: it has been implicated in several diseases including cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, malaria, rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular and kidney disease. Most of the common diseases, such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, heart failure, and renal dysfunction, are associated with vascular functional and structural alterations including endothelial dysfunction, altered contractility, and vascular remodeling. Common to these processes is increased bioavailability of reactive oxygen species (ROS), decreased nitric oxide (NO) levels, and reduced antioxidant capacity. Oxidative processes are up-regulated also in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) and seem to be a cause of elevated risk of morbidity and mortality in these patients. In this review, we highlight the role of oxidative stress in cardiovascular and renal disease.


Mitochondrial Dysfunction in the Pathogenesis of Rett Syndrome: Implications for Mitochondria-Targeted Therapies.
First described over 50 years ago, Rett syndrome (RTT) is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused primarily by mutations of the X-linked MECP2 gene. RTT affects predominantly females, and has a prevalence of roughly 1 in every 10,000 female births. Prior to the discovery that mutations of MECP2 are the leading cause of RTT, there were suggestions that RTT could be a mitochondrial disease. In fact, several reports documented altered mitochondrial structure, and deficiencies in mitochondrial enzyme activity in different cells or tissues derived from RTT patients. With the identification of MECP2 as the causal gene, interest largely shifted toward defining the normal function of MeCP2 in the brain, and how its absence affects the neurodevelopment and neurophysiology. Recently, though, interest in studying mitochondrial function in RTT has been reignited, at least in part due to observations suggesting systemic oxidative stress does play a contributing role in RTT pathogenesis. Here we review data relating to mitochondrial alterations at the structural and functional levels in RTT patients and model systems, and present a hypothesis for how the absence of MeCP2 could lead to altered mitochondrial function and elevated levels of cellular oxidative stress. Finally, we discuss the prospects for treating RTT using interventions that target specific aspects of mitochondrial dysfunction and/or oxidative stress.


Greywater reuse: an assessment of the Jordanian experience in rural communities.
Water conservation is a critical issue, particularly in arid countries and countries that suffer a lack of natural water resources. Jordan is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world; this fact has forced the search for alternative sustainable solutions. With the support of several regional and international organizations, tens of projects were implemented across the country over the past 30 years that aimed to reuse greywater in rural communities. The current review provides a wide overview of Jordan's experience in greywater treatment and its reuse for non-potable purposes in rural areas. To the best knowledge of the authors, the present review is the first to assess the Jordanian experience in this field. Many governmental authorities and non-governmental organizations have been involved in Jordan's experience. The greywater reuse systems were established to achieve advantageous environmental and socio-economic consequences on the rural communities. The strategy of greywater treatment was based on a local on-site greywater treatment system in households or the so-called 'autonomous water management'. The applied greywater treatment technologies in households were found efficient in rendering greywater adequate for agricultural uses. However, further improvements and territorial expansion of the experiment are needed.


Information communication and technology in sports: a meticulous review.
Sports of all kinds even though have an alluring property of keeping their onlookers stuck to their place, the introduction of Technology, however, revolutionized it all together. Not only in legal sports but also the training and teaching methods have been reformed. The use of Information Communication and Technology (ICT) based technologies [Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), Hawkeye, Computer vision, Artificial intelligence, etc.] has moderately increased the interactive nature of sports. Employing ICT-driven technologies have continuously been increasing performance levels due to which high effective performance levels have been achieved. In addition to offering information to the users, it also acts as a means for connecting and interacting with the remaining world. In this article, we provide a review of the studies considering the developments and impact of employing ICT technology on sports, especially cricket. The study has focussed on domain-specific developments in cricket sports: developments in the batting domain, bowling domain, and wicketkeeping as well. For the study, the analysis has been done following the PRISMA guidelines. The study found that even though the researchers have done justifiable work in employing technology in sports as a whole but the domain-specific contribution in sports like cricket is not at the level as is need of the hour. In addition to the mentioned domains in the study, the research should gain speed in other domains like domain-specific Talent Identification for both genders, different age groups, diverse sports, etc. undoubtedly, the sports domain is employing technology at a vast level but a few domains like sports talent identification especially related to the most famous games like cricket require an immediate and intense focus of the researchers. Since this domain is still carrying out a traditional coach-oriented approach. There is an acute need to revolutionize the domain by incorporating modern technologies into it.


Multilevel composition fractionation process for high-value utilization of wheat straw cellulose.
Biomass refining into multiple products has gained considerable momentum due to its potential benefits for economic and environmental sustainability. However, the recalcitrance of biomass is a major challenge in bio-based product production. Multilevel composition fractionation processes should be beneficial in overcoming biomass recalcitrance and achieving effective conversion of multiple compositions of biomass. The present study concerns the fractionation of wheat straw using steam explosion, coupled with ethanol extraction, and that this facilitates the establishment of sugars and lignin platform and enables the production of regenerated cellulose films. The results showed that the hemicellulose fractionation yield was 73% under steam explosion at 1.6 MPa for 5.2 minutes, while the lignin fractionation yield was 90% by ethanol extraction at 160°C for 2 hours and with 60% ethanol (v/v). The cellulose yield reached up to 93% after steam explosion coupled with ethanol extraction. Therefore, cellulose sugar, hemicellulose sugar, and lignin platform were established effectively in the present study. Long fibers (retained by a 40-mesh screening) accounted for 90% of the total cellulose fibers, and the glucan conversion of short fibers was 90% at 9.0 hours with a cellulase loading of 25 filter paper units/g cellulose in enzymatic hydrolysis. Regenerated cellulose film was prepared from long fibers using [bmim]Cl, and the tensile strength and breaking elongation was 120 MPa and 4.8%, respectively. The cross-section of regenerated cellulose film prepared by [bmim]Cl displayed homogeneous structure, which indicated a dense architecture and a better mechanical performance. Multilevel composition fractionation process using steam explosion followed by ethanol extraction was shown to be an effective process by which wheat straw could be fractionated into different polymeric fractions with high yields. High-value utilization of wheat straw cellulose was achieved by preparing regenerated cellulose film using [bmim]Cl.


Allergic diseases, smoking, and environmental exposure among university students in Lebanon.
Smoking habits among university students in Lebanon are not clearly identified, and studies correlating these habits to asthma and allergic diseases are lacking. The primary objective of this study is to assess asthma and allergic diseases' predictors, particularly cigarette and/or waterpipe smoking and other environmental exposures, among university students. A second objective is to evaluate the potential role of these predictors as correlates of health-related self-assessment. A cross-sectional study, using a proportionate cluster sample of 3000 Lebanese students in both public and private universities, was conducted between January 2015 and December 2015. The number of smokers at home, living close to an electricity generator and exposure to sand and dust significantly increased the odds of having asthma or allergic diseases (p = 0.015; OR = 1.183; p = 0.01; OR = 2.062; p = 0.001; OR = 3.558 respectively). Having tried cigarette smoking and having an air conditioner inside the means of transportation would decrease the odds of having asthma or allergic diseases by around 68% and 56.1% respectively (p = 0.009; ORa = 0.320; p = 0.01; ORa = 0.439 respectively). Although students with asthma or allergic diseases tended to avoid all identifiable atopic risk factors, lesser known environmental factors such as living close to an electricity generator, exposure to sand and dust, and exposure to car exhaust fumes were associated with a higher risk of asthma and a decrease in health related self-assessment. Students with asthma and allergic diseases smoked cigarettes and waterpipe at similar percentages, but cigarette smokers had a lower health related self-assessment.


Association between Monocyte Count and Risk of Incident CKD and Progression to ESRD.
Experimental evidence suggests a role for monocytes in the biology of kidney disease progression; however, whether monocyte count is associated with risk of incident CKD, CKD progression, and ESRD has not been examined in large epidemiologic studies. We built a longitudinal observational cohort of 1,594,700 United States veterans with at least one eGFR during fiscal year 2004 (date of last eGFR during this period designated time zero) and no prior history of ESRD, dialysis, or kidney transplant. Cohort participants were followed until September 30, 2013 or death. Monocyte count closest to and before time zero was categorized in quartiles: quartile 1, >0.00 to ≤0.40 thousand cells per cubic millimeter (k/cmm); quartile 2, >0.40 to ≤0.55 k/cmm; quartile 3, >0.55 to ≤0.70 k/cmm; and quartile 4, >0.70 k/cmm. Survival models were built to examine the association between monocyte count and risk of incident eGFR<60 ml/min per 1.73 m2, risk of incident CKD, and risk of CKD progression defined as doubling of serum creatinine, eGFR decline ≥30%, or the composite outcome of ESRD, dialysis, or renal transplantation. Over a median follow-up of 9.2 years (interquartile range, 8.3-9.4); in adjusted survival models, there was a graded association between monocyte counts and risk of renal outcomes. Compared with quartile 1, quartile 4 was associated with higher risk of incident eGFR<60 ml/min per 1.73 m2 (hazard ratio, 1.13; 95% confidence interval, 1.12 to 1.14) and risk of incident CKD (hazard ratio, 1.15; 95% confidence interval, 1.13 to 1.16). Quartile 4 was associated with higher risk of doubling of serum creatinine (hazard ratio, 1.22; 95% confidence interval, 1.20 to 1.24), ≥30% eGFR decline (hazard ratio, 1.18; 95% confidence interval, 1.17 to 1.19), and the composite renal end point (hazard ratio, 1.19; 95% confidence interval, 1.16 to 1.22). Cubic spline analyses of the relationship between monocyte count levels and renal outcomes showed a linear relationship, in which risk was higher with higher monocyte count. Results were robust to changes in sensitivity analyses. Our results show a significant association between higher monocyte count and risks of incident CKD and CKD progression to ESRD.


Hepatitis C virus: molecular virology and its implications for serologic diagnosis.
Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) has been identified as the major etiological agent of parenterally-transmitted non-A non-B hepatitis. The virus has been cloned recently and completely or partially sequenced. Molecular analysis of the HCV genome indicates that it is a small, enveloped RNA virus having a highly conserved structural region followed by five less conserved non-structural regions. Based on nucleotide sequences, it has been found that multiple types of HCV exist. Infection with HCV can now be diagnosed by using virus-specific antibodies. A first generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was initially used. However, this test had many drawbacks and consequently a second generation ELISA has been developed. The inclusion of new antigens in a recombinant immunoblot assay has further increased the sensitivity of diagnosing HCV infection. Also, detection of the virus genetic material by using polymerase chain reaction has enabled detection of viremia within only a few days following exposure apart from offering a possibility to monitor anti-viral treatment, since a decrease in viral RNA level is noticed in patients with positive response to treatment.


Gene structure in hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin individuals.
Gel blot hybridization studies on DNA from individuals heterozygous for different types of hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin (HPFH) have shown a good correlation in gene structures with those deduced from data obtained in studies of the hemoglobins found in members of the families. The recent data have also shown that in certain individuals additional strong hybridizing bands are present. The origin of these bands is as present unresolved, but it may be that they represent additional genes.


[Tick-borne encephalitis in a pregnant patient].
There is a lack of information in the literature about the course and risk of vertical transmission of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) during pregnancy. Presented is a case report of a female patient in the 37th week of pregnancy infected by foodborne transmission. She developed meningitis with no neurological damage. Three weeks after the first symptoms, she gave birth to a healthy child who, at the age of 30 months, had a negative result of anti-TBE antibodies in both IgM and IgG classes. In the child, no signs of neurological injury or impaired psychomotor development were observed throughout the follow-up period.


Insulin response to glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity is elevated in rats fed diets low in polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) activity in the rat liver was elevated when the animals were fed a diet that contained 5% coconut oil or 1% corn oil plus 4% palmitic acid, in comparison with that of rats fed 5% corn oil. G6PD activity correlated inversely with the PUFA/SFA ratio of total liver phospholipid as well as the ratio of plasma membrane phospholipid. Elevation of G6PD activity was slightly affected by dietary protein. Serum insulin levels were apparently not influenced by dietary fats, and were not correlated with G6PD activity. Insulin dose-response to G6PD activity was augmented in primary cultured hepatocytes isolated from rats fed a diet with 1% corn oil plus 4% palmitic acid in comparison with those fed a diet with 1% corn oil plus 4% palmitic acid in comparison with those fed a diet with 5% corn oil. These findings indicate that augment in insulin dose-response to G6PD and elevation of its activity shown in rats fed diets low in polyunsaturated fatty acid are associated with lowering the PUFA/SFA ratio in plasma membrane phospholipid.


Recent Advances in Noble-Metal-Free Catalysts for Electrocatalytic Synthesis of Ammonia under Ambient Conditions.
Ammonia is an essential chemical for producing fertilizers and energy carriers. However, the industrial Haber-Bosch process causes huge CO2 emissions and energy waste. As a promising alternative for Haber-Bosch process, electrochemical synthesis of ammonia has drawn much attention. Catalysts, as a vital part of electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR), have developed rapidly in recent years. Compared to noble-metal catalysts, noble-metal-free catalysts possess a low-cost advantage. In this review, noble-metal-free catalysts, including metal-based materials, metal organic frameworks (MOFs), MXenes, and metal-free materials, are summarized. In addition, effective design strategies are discussed, along with the main problems and some potential directions of noble-metal-free NRR catalysts.


Transplantation of embryonic stem cell-derived endodermal cells into mice with induced lethal liver damage.
ESCs are a potential cell source for cell therapy. However, there is no evidence that cell transplantation using ESC-derived hepatocytes is therapeutically effective. The main objective of this study was to assess the therapeutic efficacy of the transplantation of ESC-derived endodermal cells into a liver injury model. The beta-galactosidase-labeled mouse ESCs were differentiated into alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)-producing endodermal cells. AFP-producing cells or ESCs were transplanted into transgenic mice that expressed diphtheria toxin (DT) receptors under the control of an albumin enhancer/promoter. Selective damage was induced in the recipient hepatocytes by the administration of DT. Although the transplanted AFP-producing cells had repopulated only 3.4% of the total liver mass 7 days after cell transplantation, they replaced 32.8% of the liver by day 35. However, these engrafted cells decreased (18.3% at day 40 and 7.9% at day 50) after the cessation of DT administration, and few donor cells were observed by days 60-90. The survival rate of the AFP-producing cell-transplanted group (66.7%) was significantly higher in comparison with that of the sham-operated group (17.6%). No tumors were detected by day 50 in the AFP-producing cell-transplanted group; however, splenic teratomas did form 60 days or more after transplantation. ESC transplantation had no effect on survival rates; furthermore, there was a high frequency of tumors in the ESC-transplanted group 35 days after transplantation. In conclusion, this study demonstrates, for the first time, that ESC-derived endodermal cells improve the survival rates after transplantation into mice with induced hepatocellular injury. Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.


The epidemiology of fatal burn injuries.
The paper retrospectively reviews 80 burn fatalities from accidents or attempted suicides with patients admitted to the LAC-USC Medical Center from 1983 to 1987 to determine demographic factors, etiology of the burn injury, and existence of predisposing risk factors. The average age of fatal burn victims was 44 years; 74% were males, 39% were Caucasian, 35% were black, 21% were Hispanic, and 5% were of Asian descent. Blacks and Caucasians were overrepresented and Hispanics underrepresented in relation to all autopsy cases. Major etiologic factors included suicide, falling asleep while smoking, accidents while working with volatile solvents, housefires, scalds, cooking accidents, and accidents involving motor vehicles. Gasoline was the commonest solvent involved with burn fatalities. Significant risk factors for burn fatality were substance abuse (25% of cases) and impaired mental function (19% of cases).


Role of immune related genes in predicting prognosis and immune response in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.
Immunotherapy has developed rapidly in recent years. This study aimed to establish a prognostic signature for immune-related genes (IRGs) and explore related potential immunotherapies. The RNA-seq transcriptome profiles and clinicopathological information of patients were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Differentially expressed IRGs in tumors and normal tissues were screened and a risk score signature was constructed to predict the prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Receiver operating characteristic curves, survival analyses, and correlation analyses were used to explore the clinical application of this model. We further analyzed the differences in clinical characteristics, immune infiltration, somatic mutations, and treatment sensitivity between the high- and low-risk populations characterized by the prognostic models. The immune cell infiltration score and immune-related pathway activity were calculated using the single sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) set enrichment analysis. Gene ontology (GO), Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes, and GSEA were used to explore the underlying mechanisms. We constructed a nine-IRG formula to predict the prognosis in HCC patients. The higher the risk score, the higher the malignancy of the tumor and the worse the prognosis. There were significant differences in immune related processes between the high- and low-risk groups. TP53 and CTNNB1 mutations were significantly different between different risk groups. The expression of model gene was closely related to the sensitivity of tumor cells to chemotherapeutic drugs. This risk score model, which is helpful for the individualized treatment of patients with different risk factors, could be a reliable prognostic tool for HCC patients.


c-JUN expression and apoptotic cell death in kainate-induced temporal lobe epilepsy.
Following kainate (KA)-induced epilepsy, rat hippocampal neurons strongly express immediate early gene (IEG) products, i.e., c-FOS and c-JUN, and neural stress protein, HSP72. Prolonged expression of c-JUN and c-FOS 48 hr after cerebral ischemia has been underwent delayed neuronal death. However, it is not yet clear whether IEGs actually assume the essential roles in the cell death process or simply as a by-product due to external stimuli because of the prolonged expression of c-FOS, more than one week, on intact CA2 neurons of the hippocampus in a KA-induced epilepsy model. This study investigated the relationships between prolonged expression of c-JUN and hippocampal neuronal apoptosis in a KA-induced epilepsy model. Epileptic seizure was induced in rats by a single microinjection of KA (1 microgram/microL) into the left amygdala. Characteristic seizures and hippocampal neuronal injury were developed. The expression of c-JUN was evaluated by immunohistochemistry, and neuronal apoptosis by in situ end labeling. The seizures were associated with c-JUN expression in the hippocampal neurons, of which the level showed a positive correlation with that of apoptosis. Losses of hippocampal neurons, especially in the CA3 region, were partly caused by apoptotic cell death via a c-JUN-mediated signaling pathway. This is thought to be an important component in the pathogenesis of hippocampal neuronal injury via KA-induced epilepsy.


[Efficacy of therapeutic exercises in low back pain surveyed in a group of nurses].
The aim of the survey was to analyze the efficacy of therapeutic exercises in a selected group of nurses and to show the interest of nurses in kinesitherapy as a method for preventing back pain complaints. A questionnaire survey covered a group of 102 active nurses, being at the same time part-time students of the Poznań Medical University. The study revealed very frequent low back complaints among the nurses. The application of simple physical exercises proved to be effective, but not all the nurses followed the prescribed program of exercises. There was a positive correlation between the intensity and frequency of pains, duration of employment, and the range of responsibilities. After completing the prescribed program of exercises a significant alleviation of back pains was observed in the study group. The exercises were recognized as efficacious, uncomplicated, and providing relief. Although over a half of nurses under study did not practice exercises twice a day, as recommended, as many as 88% of nurses are going to continue the program of kinesitherapy in the future.


Unidirectional emission in an all-dielectric nanoantenna.
All-dielectric nanoantennas are a promising alternative to plasmonic optical antennas for engineering light emission because of their low-loss nature in the optical spectrum. Nevertheless, it is still challenging to manipulate directional light emission with subwavelength all-dielectric nanoantennas. Here, we propose and numerically demonstrate that a hollow silicon nanodisk can serve as a versatile antenna for directing and enhancing the emission from either an electric or magnetic dipole emitter. When primarily coupled to both electric and magnetic dipole modes of a nanoantenna, broadband nearly-unidirectional emission can be realized by the interference of two modes, which can be spectrally tuned via the geometric parameters in an easy way. More importantly, the emission directions for the magnetic and electric dipole emitters are shown as opposite to each other through control of the phase difference between the induced magnetic and electric dipole modes of the antenna. Meanwhile, the Purcell factors can be enhanced by more than one order of magnitude and high quantum efficiencies can be maintained at the visible spectrum for both kinds of dipole emitters. We further show that these unidirectional emission phenomena can withstand small disorder effects of in-plane dipole orientation and location. Our study provides a simple yet versatile platform that can shape the emission of both magnetic and electric dipole emitters.


The interfacial behavior of water/PMMA thin film under normal compression.
Molecular dynamics simulation (MD) has been used to investigate the structure property of water/PMMA interface under compression and compression release. A virtual repulsive wall was employed to generate a normal compression strain on the simulation model, leading a compressive system. In order to understand the difference of interfacial phenomenon between the system under strain and under release, the hydrogen bond and density distributions of water and PMMA along the normal direction are calculated. The results show that the hydrogen bond distribution profile of compressive system is different from that of the release system at the same strain. It demonstrates that the characteristic structure of water/PMMA interface under a compression-release cycle is not reversible.


The DNA content of colorectal carcinomas: an analysis of the heterogeneity of aneuploidy and correlation with immunopathological parameters.
DNA ploidy patterns of 107 colorectal adenocarcinomas were retrospectively analyzed by flow cytometry (FCM) and correlated with clinicopathological and immunohistological parameters as grade, vascular and serosal invasion, carcinoembryonic antigen, secretory component (SC) and expression of HLA-DR antigens. Using the classical division into DNA diploid and DNA aneuploid tumors, a correlation with SC expression was observed. Subdivision of aneuploid tumors according to the discussed hypothetical functional criteria into hyperdiploid, hypotetraploid, tetraploid and hypertetraploid groups led to statistically significant correlation with serosal invasion. Among the immunohistological parameters the interdependence of SC and HLA-DR expression may be also of interest. The need for subdivision of DNA aneuploidy is broadly discussed so as to permit the analysis of different properties, cellular origins and kinetic parameters. Ultimately this may lead to more clinically meaningful interpretation of DNA histograms.


Morphological changes in the geniculocortical pathway associated with monocular deprivation.
To summarize (Fig. 10), the structural consequences of monocular deprivation include the following changes: the relay cells in the binocular segments of the deprived geniculate layers shrink and contain less of the possible neurotransmitter NAAG. These changes appear to be secondary to a loss of terminal synaptic arbor. Certainly, deprived geniculocortical cells project to smaller ocular dominance patches in layer IV of visual cortex, where they make fewer and abnormal synapses. As a result, they activate ocular activation columns that, in addition to being small, are faint and usually fail to extend into extragranular layers. This failure to extend to other layers probably results from a failure of the poorly activated deprived-eye cells in layer IV to compete successfully with neighboring experienced-eye cells in layer IV, resulting in a loss of connections from layer IV to other layers (Fig. 11). Thus, the primary effect of monocular deprivation is probably the disruption of the geniculocortical synapse, with the other changes, such as cell size, and possibly the change in neurotransmitter content, being secondary. The disrupted synapse would result in poorly driven cortical cells and faint ocular activation columns, which in turn would bias a secondary competition for access to cells in extragranular layers. There are certain general principles that unite the findings presented in this chapter with the others in this session. First, there are similarities in the types of morphological changes observed, for example, changes in the number and size of synaptic terminals, as well as mitochondrial changes. This implies that there are similar changes during development and adult plasticity and also similar changes in vertebrates and invertebrates. Second, it is not so much the amount of activity that determines these changes, but the pattern of activity. In my results, the relative imbalance in activity is important, but not the absolute amount (for example, the columns activated by the 8-hr eye of an AME 8/1 are different from those activated by the 8-hr eye of an AME 8/8). Similarly, the binocular segment, where there was an imbalance and competition could occur, was affected, whereas the monocular segment, where there was no imbalance and competition could not occur, was not. Finally, the recent results of Reiter and Stryker suggest that monocular deprivation produces changes only when the activity of the presynaptic cell and the postsynaptic cell are correlated.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


[Effect of different early nutritional interventions on catch-up growth of rats with intrauterine growth retardation].
About 20 - 50% individuals with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) could not achieve catch-up growth and remain small in size till adulthood. There are few reports on the relation between intestinal development and body catch-up growth of IUGR. Studies showed that early "nutritional programming" would results in long-term effects on the body growth and organic function, and gastrointestinal development is closely related to the body development as well. The authors aimed to study the effect of early nutritional interventions on serum IGF1, IGFBP3, intestinal development and catch-up growth of pups with IUGR by using diets with different protein and caloric levels during the first four weeks of life. An IUGR rat model was established by maternal nutrition restriction during pregnancy. Thirty-two IUGR female pups were divided randomly into 4 groups (8 pups in each group) and eight normal female pups as control. The groups and interventions were (1) Normal control group (C group); (2) IUGR control group (S group), (3) IUGR low-protein diet group (SL group); (4) IUGR high-protein diet group (SH group); (5) IUGR high-caloric group (SA group). The serum IGF1, IGFBP3, body weight, body length, and intestinal weight, length, intestinal villi height (VH), crypt depth (CD), villi absorbing area (VSA), mucous thickness (MT) were measured at the 4(th) week of life. (1) At the 4(th) week, the serum IGF1 (724.0 +/- 153.5 ng/ml), IGFBP3 (9.69 +/- 3.13 ng/ml), and VH (416.9 +/- 46.3 microm), VSA (115.9 +/- 24.0 x 10(3) microm(2)), MT (583.9 +/- 68.5 microm) in the SH group were significantly higher than those of normal control group (539.4 +/- 198.4 ng/ml, 4.77 +/- 2.98 ng/ml and 322.1 +/- 25.8 microm, 85.8 +/- 17.8 x 10(3) microm(2), 480.0 +/- 61.5 microm) and IUGR control group (P < 0.05). The intestinal weight (1.91 +/- 0.16 g) and length (80.67 +/- 9.47 cm) in the SH group was not significantly different from the normal control group (2.24 +/- 0.22 g and 74.77 +/- 9.06 cm, P > 0.05). The SH group showed the fastest catch-up growth. Their body weights (40.14 +/- 11.03 g) at the 3(rd) week and body lengths (23.61 +/- 0.49 cm) at the 4(th) week of life reached the normal ranges of the control group (44.65 +/- 5.36 g and 23.10 +/- 1.42 cm, P > 0.05). (2) The serum IGF1 (346.7 +/- 85.3 ng/ml), IGFBP3 (1.4 +/- 0.21 ng/ml), body weight (21.41 +/- 3.54 g) and body length (15.96 +/- 1.29 cm) and the most of intestinal indexes in the SL group were markedly lower than other groups at the 4(th) week of life (P < 0.05). The serum IGF1 was a sensitive marker to reflect the catch-up growth and nutritional status, and IGF1 was positively correlated with the intestinal development and body growth. When given different nutritional interventions during the first four weeks of life, high protein diet is more helpful for the IUGR catch-up growth by promoting the intestinal development and the absorption of nutrition.


Asiatic Acid Attenuated Aluminum Chloride-Induced Tau Pathology, Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis Via AKT/GSK-3β Signaling Pathway in Wistar Rats.
Asiatic acid (AA), a triterpenoid present in Centella asiatica, possesses the ability to cross blood brain barrier and received considerable attention for its neuroprotective role. We have reported the benefit of AA against aluminum chloride (AlCl3)-induced amyloid pathology, enhanced acetylcholine esterase (AChE) activity, and inflammation in Alzheimer's disease (AD) like model rats. Based on that, to find the exact mechanism of action of AA, the present study was designed to evaluate the oxidative stress, tau pathology, apoptosis, and Akt/GSK3β signaling pathway on AlCl3-induced neurotoxicity in Wistar rats. AD-like pathology was induced by oral administration of AlCl3 (100 mg/kg b.w.) for 6 weeks, which demonstrated a significant reduction in spatial memory performance, anxiety, and motor dysfunction and diminished the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK 5-enzyme implicated in the phosphorylation of tau proteins), pTau, oxidative stress, and apoptosis, whereas oral ingestion of AA (75 mg/kg b.w.) for 7 weeks attenuated the above-said indices, which could be by activating Akt/GSK3β pathway. Current results suggested that AA could be able to modulate various pathological features of AD and could hold promise in AD treatment.


Acute impact of conventional and eccentric cycling on platelet and vascular function in patients with chronic heart failure.
Evidence-based guidelines recommend exercise therapy for patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Such patients have increased atherothrombotic risk. Exercise can transiently increase platelet activation and reactivity and decrease vascular function in healthy participants, although data in CHF are scant. Eccentric (ECC) cycling is a novel exercise modality that may be particularly suited to patients with CHF, but the acute impacts of ECC cycling on platelet and vascular function are currently unknown. Our null hypothesis was that ECC and concentric (CON) cycling, performed at matched external workloads, would not induce changes in platelet or vascular function in patients with CHF. Eleven patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) took part in discrete bouts of ECC and CON cycling. Before and immediately after exercise, vascular function was assessed by measuring diameter and flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery. Platelet function was measured by the flow cytometric determination of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa activation and granule exocytosis in the presence and absence of platelet agonists. ECC cycling increased baseline artery diameter (pre: 4.0 ± 0.8 mm vs. post: 4.2 ± 0.7 mm; P = 0.04) and decreased FMD%. When changes in baseline artery diameter were accounted for, the decrease in FMD post-ECC cycling was no longer significant. No changes were apparent after CON. Neither ECC nor CON cycling resulted in changes to any platelet-function measures (all P > 0.05). These results suggest that both ECC and CON cycling, at a moderate intensity and short duration, can be performed by patients with HFrEF without detrimental impacts on vascular or platelet function.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This is the first evidence to indicate that eccentric (ECC) cycling can be performed relatively safely by patients with chronic heart failure (CHF), as it did not result in impaired vascular or platelet function compared with conventional cycling. This is important, as acute exercise can transiently increase atherothrombotic risk, and ECC cycling is a novel exercise modality that may be particularly suited to patients with CHF.


Clinical analysis of 570 cases with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis: results of a nationwide retrospective survey in Japan.
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the incidence of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) among Japanese children and to evaluate the clinical features of this disease. A questionnaire was sent to the department of pediatrics of 1290 hospitals in Japan, in 1994, asking for the number of rheumatic patients during the past 10 years. Subsequently, a second questionnaire was sent asking for the type of onset, clinical features, treatment, and other details. The results of 570 cases were obtained. Of these, 310 cases (54%) were the systemic onset type, 140 cases were the polyarticular onset type (25%), and 120 cases (21%) were the pauciarticular onset type. Hence, in the present series of children, the proportion of the pauciarticular type was less than the other two types of JRA. In the laboratory findings of the systemic onset type, hyperferritinemia and thrombocytosis were noted, in addition to leukocytosis, positive C- reactive protein (CRP) and accentuated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). The rheumatoid factor was positive in 50% of patients with the polyarticular onset type. Chronic uveitis was recognized in 13 cases (10.8%) of the pauciarticular onset type. In four girls, uveitis started before the onset of arthritis. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were used in almost one-third of cases, and methotrexate (MTX) was used in 12.8% of cases. The quality of life of children with JRA was disturbed in almost 20% of cases. Therefore, for the early and definitive diagnosis of the systemic type of JRA, diagnostic procedures including thrombocyte counts and serum ferritin level, should be performed. In order to obtain good results and to avoid side effects, a protocol for the use of disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs and immunosuppressants, especially for the use of MTX, must be established.


Phenytoin use in elderly nursing home residents.
Phenytoin (PHT) dosing regimens are often determined based on experience in those aged <65 years rather than in those aged >or=65 years. The goal of this study was to determine the impact of sex, age, receipt of concomitant inhibitors or inducers of PHT metabolism, and albumin levels on doses and total serum concentrations of PHT in elderly nursing home residents. Consulting pharmacists to nursing homes located throughout the United States collected data from June 1998 to December 2000. The mean daily dose per person and mean total serum PHT concentration were tested for statistical differences by sex, age group (6-74, 75-84, and >or=85 years), coadministration of PHT inhibitors or inducers, and albumin levels. Data were collected from 387 residents (259 women, 128 men) of 112 nursing homes in 19 states who received PHT and for whom PHT concentrations were available. The mean (SD) age of the study population was 79.4 (7.8) years; women constituted 67.0% of the study population. The mean (SD) total daily dose and total PHT concentration were 4.9 (1.8) mg/kg and 11.7 (6.4) mg/L, respectively. In general, women received higher mean (SD) daily doses of PHT compared with men (5.1 [1.8] vs 4.6 [1.6] mg/kg, respectively; P=0.017) to achieve similar total serum concentrations (11.6 [6.4] and 12.0 [6.6] mg/L). PHT doses and serum concentrations were similar between age groups. There were no differences in daily doses (mg/kg or mg/d) or total serum concentrations of PHT based on concomitant use of inhibitors or inducers of PHT metabolism or on albumin levels, In this study in elderly nursing home residents, women received higher doses of PHT than men to achieve similar total serum PHT concentrations. There were no differences in doses or total serum PHT concentrations by age group, use of concomitant inducers or inhibitors of PHT metabolism, or albumin levels.


Morpholino phosphorodiamidate oligonucleotides in zebrafish: a recipe for functional genomics?
Morpholino phosphorodiamidate anti-sense oligonucleotides (MPOs) have recently emerged as a tool for gene-specific knockdown. MPOs have a great potential for both therapeutic applications and functional genomics. In particular, zebrafish are well suited for gene function studies using MPOs owing to their rapid external development, transparent embryos and the ease of delivery of the intervening MPOs. This paper describes principles of MPO action and the application of MPOs for gene function studies and therapeutics. In the field of functional genomics, the MPO strategy has been most successfully used to study gene function in zebrafish. Over 35 mutations have been successfully phenocopied and over 30 novel gene functions have been analysed in zebrafish using MPOs during the last two years. The essential controls that are required to avoid misinterpretation of experimental data when using MPOs for gene function analysis will also be described.


Accurate rotational constant and bond lengths of hexafluorobenzene by femtosecond rotational Raman coherence spectroscopy and ab initio calculations.
The gas-phase rotational motion of hexafluorobenzene has been measured in real time using femtosecond (fs) time-resolved rotational Raman coherence spectroscopy (RR-RCS) at T = 100 and 295 K. This four-wave mixing method allows to probe the rotation of non-polar gas-phase molecules with fs time resolution over times up to ∼5 ns. The ground state rotational constant of hexafluorobenzene is determined as B0 = 1029.740(28) MHz (2σ uncertainty) from RR-RCS transients measured in a pulsed seeded supersonic jet, where essentially only the v = 0 state is populated. Using this B0 value, RR-RCS measurements in a room temperature gas cell give the rotational constants Bv of the five lowest-lying thermally populated vibrationally excited states ν7/8, ν9, ν11/12, ν13, and ν14/15. Their Bv constants differ from B0 by between -1.02 MHz and +2.23 MHz. Combining the B0 with the results of all-electron coupled-cluster CCSD(T) calculations of Demaison et al. [Mol. Phys. 111, 1539 (2013)] and of our own allow to determine the C-C and C-F semi-experimental equilibrium bond lengths re(C-C) = 1.3866(3) Å and re(C-F) = 1.3244(4) Å. These agree with the CCSD(T)/wCVQZ re bond lengths calculated by Demaison et al. within ±0.0005 Å. We also calculate the semi-experimental thermally averaged bond lengths rg(C-C)=1.3907(3) Å and rg(C-F)=1.3250(4) Å. These are at least ten times more accurate than two sets of experimental gas-phase electron diffraction rg bond lengths measured in the 1960s.


Biliary Mucinous Cystic Neoplasm of the Liver with Ovarian Stroma and Elevated Serum and Cystic Fluid Cancer Antigen 19-9 Levels.
Biliary mucinous cystic neoplasms of the liver are rare cystic tumors comprising less than 5% of the liver cystic neoplasms. These tumors demonstrate a female predominance and entail a risk of malignant transformation. We present a 56-year-old female patient with a multiloculated liver cystic lesion measuring 22 cm who underwent a cystectomy with en bloc resection of the liver segments II, III, and cholecystectomy. Serum cancer antigen 19.9 was 4,122.00 U/ml, supporting the diagnosis of a biliary cystic tumor. The cytology of the cystic fluid was negative for malignancy and intracystic fluid cancer antigen 19.9 level was measured over 12,000.00 U/l. The patient is free of recurrence at one-year follow up. Although a rare entity, the biliary mucinous cystic neoplasms should be considered in the differential diagnosis in the patients with liver cystic tumors. The appropriate management with complete surgical resection with negative margins is recommended given the risk of recurrence and malignant transformation.


Mechanical and thermal properties of silane grafted organomodified montmorillonite reinforced silicone rubber nanocomposites.
The present work deals with the preparation and characterization of silane grafted MMT (S-MMT), organomodified MMT (O-MMT) and silane grafted organomodified montmorillonite (OS-MMT) reinforced silicone rubber (SR) nanocomposites. XRD of SR filled with O-MMT (1-8 wt%), OS-MMT (1-8 wt%) and S-MMT (1-5 wt%) suggested the formation exfoliated morphology, which has also been supported by the corresponding TEM images of 3 wt% filled SR nanocomposites. TGA and DSC studies of SR/OS-MMT (3 wt%) nanocomposites have shown that the thermal stability, glass transition temperature and crystallization temperature are maximum improved with respect to neat SR by 50, 14 and 10 degrees C respectively. This is attributed to the synergistic effect of organo-modification followed by amino silane grafting of MMT on thermal properties of SR. The tensile strength of SR/S-MMT (5 wt%), SR/O-MMT (3 wt%) and SR/OS-MMT (3 wt%) relatively improved by 134, 312, and 259% respectively suggesting that the synergistic effect of OS-MMT is not effective in reinforcing the mechanical properties of SR. In all probability, the curing of SR through hydrosilylation is inhibited by the lone pair on nitrogen in NH2 group of OS-MMT.


Post-weaning feed efficiency decreased in progeny of higher milk yielding beef cows.
Current trends in the beef industry focus on selecting production traits with the purpose of maximizing calf weaning weight; however, such traits may ultimately decrease overall post-weaning productivity. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of actual milk yield in mature beef cows on their offspring's dry matter intake (DMI), BW, average daily gain, feed conversion ratio (FCR) and residual feed intake (RFI) during a ~75-day backgrounding feeding trial. A period of 24-h milk production was measured with a modified weigh-suckle-weigh technique using a milking machine. After milking, cows were retrospectively classified as one of three milk yield groups: Lower (6.57±1.21 kg), Moderate (9.02±0.60 kg) or Higher (11.97±1.46 kg). Calves from Moderate and Higher milk yielding dams had greater (P<0.01) BW from day 0 until day 75 at the end of the backgrounding feeding phase; however, day 75 BW were not different (P=0.36) between Lower and Moderate calves. Body weight gain was greater (P=0.05) for Lower and Moderate calves from the day 0 BW to day 35 BW compared with Higher calves. Overall DMI was lower (P=0.03) in offspring from Lower and Moderate cows compared with their Higher milking counterparts. With the decreased DMI, FCR was lower (P=0.03) from day 0 to day 35 in calves from Lower and Moderate milk yielding dams. In addition, overall FCR was lower (P=0.02) in calves from Lower and Moderate milk yielding dams compared with calves from Higher milk yielding dams. However, calving of Lower milk yielding dams had an increased (P=0.04) efficiency from a negative RFI value compared with calves from Moderate and Higher milking dams. Results from this study suggest that increased milk production in beef cows decreases feed efficiency during a 75-day post-weaning, backgrounding period of progeny.


Thoracic Interfascial Plane Blocks and Outcomes After Minithoracotomy for Valve Surgery.
Introduction. Thoracic interfascial plane blocks are increasingly used for pain management after minimally invasive thoracotomy for valve repair and replacement procedures. We hypothesized that the addition of these blocks to the intercostal nerve block injected by the surgeon would further reduce pain scores and opioid utilization. Methods. In this retrospective cohort study, 400 consecutive patients who underwent minimally invasive thoracotomy for mitral or aortic valve replacement and were extubated within 2 hours of surgery were enrolled. The maximum pain score and opioid utilization on the day of surgery and other outcome variables were compared between patients who received interfascial plane blocks and those who did not. Results.193 (48%) received at least one interfascial plane block while 207 (52%) received no interfascial plane block. Patients who received a thoracic interfascial plane block had a maximum VAS score on the day of surgery (mean 7.4 ± 2.5) after the block was administered which was significantly lower than patients in the control group who did not receive the block (mean 7.9 ± 2.2) (P = .02). Opioid consumption in the interfascial plane block group on the day of surgery was not significantly different from the control group. Conclusion. Compared to intercostal blocks alone, the addition of thoracic interfascial plane blocks was associated with a modest reduction in maximum VAS score on the day of surgery. However, no difference in opioid consumption was noted. Patients who received interfascial plane blocks also had decreased blood transfusion requirements and a shorter hospital length of stay.


Acoustic and visual adaptations to predation risk: a predator affects communication in vocal female fish.
Predation is an important ecological constraint that influences communication in animals. Fish respond to predators by adjusting their visual signaling behavior, but the responses in calling behavior in the presence of a visually detected predator are largely unknown. We hypothesize that fish will reduce visual and acoustic signaling including sound levels and avoid escalating fights in the presence of a predator. To test this we investigated dyadic contests in female croaking gouramis (Trichopsis vittata, Osphronemidae) in the presence and absence of a predator (Astronotus ocellatus, Cichlidae) in an adjoining tank. Agonistic behavior in T. vittata consists of lateral (visual) displays, antiparallel circling, and production of croaking sounds and may escalate to frontal displays. We analyzed the number and duration of lateral display bouts, the number, duration, sound pressure level, and dominant frequency of croaking sounds as well as contest outcomes. The number and duration of lateral displays decreased significantly in predator when compared with no-predator trials. Total number of sounds per contest dropped in parallel but no significant changes were observed in sound characteristics. In the presence of a predator, dyadic contests were decided or terminated during lateral displays and never escalated to frontal displays. The gouramis showed approaching behavior toward the predator between lateral displays. This is the first study supporting the hypothesis that predators reduce visual and acoustic signaling in a vocal fish. Sound properties, in contrast, did not change. Decreased signaling and the lack of escalating contests reduce the fish's conspicuousness and thus predation threat.


[Efficacy of combination therapy consisting of cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, UFT and oophorectomy/tamoxifen for advanced or recurrent breast cancer].
Combination therapy consisting of cyclophosphamide (CPA), adriamycin (ADR), UFT and endocrine therapy of oophorectomy or tamoxifen (TAM) was given female patients with advanced or recurrent breast cancer. Premenopausal patients initially underwent oophorectomy, then were administered 300 mg/day of CPA and 30 mg/day of ADR intravenous injection every 2 weeks, and 300 mg/day of UFT orally every day. Postmenopausal patients, on the other hand, were administered the same three chemotherapeutic drugs and 30 mg/day of TAM orally every day instead of receiving castration. A total of 10 patients were registered, and nine of them were eligible. Premenopausal cases were six, and postmenopausal cases were three. The objective response rates were 50% (3/6) for premenopausal women and 33% (1/3) for postmenopausal women. Complete response was observed in one patient and partial response in three patients. The therapy was effective for lymph nodes (2/2), lung (3/4), breast (2/3), skin or subcutis (1/2), but it showed no effect on bone, pleural effusion or ascites. The overall 5-year survival rate was 53.3%. The main side effects of more than Grade 1 were leucopenia 33% (3/9), anorexia 22% (2/9) and malaise 22% (2/9). They were relatively mild for therapy involving ADR. This therapy was considered useful for advanced or recurrent breast cancer.


Captopril-induced cholestatic jaundice.
A 50-year-old black female developed hepatic dysfunction secondary to captopril therapy, 25 mg tid for one month. Liver biopsy showed primarily cholestasis, with secondary hepatocellular elements. Symptoms consisted of jaundice, pruritus, anorexia and weight loss, hepatomegaly, and abdominal tenderness. Total bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and serum glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT), reached highs of 506 mumol/L, 737 U/L, 319 U/L, and 100 U/L, respectively. Recovery was slow, but complete, after discontinuation of the drug.


PBMC transcriptome profiles identifies potential candidate genes and functional networks controlling the innate and the adaptive immune response to PRRSV vaccine in Pietrain pig.
The porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is a devastating viral disease affecting swine production, health and welfare throughout the world. A synergistic action of the innate and the adaptive immune system of the host is essential for mounting a durable protective immunity through vaccination. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the transcriptome profiles of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to characterize the innate and the adaptive immune response to PRRS Virus (PRRSV) vaccination in Pietrain pigs. The Affymetrix gene chip porcine gene 1.0 ST array was used for the transcriptome profiling of PBMCs collected at immediately before (D0), at one (D1) and 28 days (D28) post PRRSV vaccination with three biological replications. With FDR <0.05 and log2 fold change ±1.5 as cutoff criteria, 295 and 115 transcripts were found to be differentially expressed in PBMCs during the stage of innate and adaptive response, respectively. The microarray expression results were technically validated by qRT-PCR. The gene ontology terms such as viral life cycle, regulation of lymphocyte activation, cytokine activity and inflammatory response were enriched during the innate immunity; cytolysis, T cell mediated cytotoxicity, immunoglobulin production were enriched during adaptive immunity to PRRSV vaccination. Significant enrichment of cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, signaling by interleukins, signaling by the B cell receptor (BCR), viral mRNA translation, IFN-gamma pathway and AP-1 transcription factor network pathways were indicating the involvement of altered genes in the antiviral defense. Network analysis revealed that four network modules were functionally involved with the transcriptional network of innate immunity, and five modules were linked to adaptive immunity in PBMCs. The innate immune transcriptional network was found to be regulated by LCK, STAT3, ATP5B, UBB and RSP17. While TGFß1, IL7R, RAD21, SP1 and GZMB are likely to be predictive for the adaptive immune transcriptional response to PRRSV vaccine in PBMCs. Results of the current immunogenomics study advances our understanding of PRRS in term of host-vaccine interaction, and thereby contribute to design a rationale for disease control strategy.


Serum uric acid level of Thai individuals in comparison with the nutritional status and some other physical and biochemical parameters.
Serum uric acid levels were measured in a total of 287 adults of Thai origin in Bangkok and the rural area. Mean values and range were found to exceed slightly serum uric acid concentration as reported from western countries. There was no significant difference between the Bangkok group and the group from the rural area but males and females differed significantly in their serum uric acid levels. A significant positive correlation to the ratio between weight to height as an index of the nutritional status was found.


[Glycogenoses type 1b and 1c].
In type 1 glycogen storage diseases, glucose-6-phosphatase may be present but associated with impaired transport of glucose-6-phosphate (type 1b) or inorganic phosphate (type 1c) through microsomal membranes. The type 1c is very rare (2 published cases). The more frequent type 1b presents all the clinical manifestations of type 1a and specific signs: recurrent stomatitis, frequent infections, chronic inflammatory bowel disease secondary to neutropenia and neutrophil dysfunction. Glucose-6-phosphatase activity is low when measured on fresh liver tissue, but is restored after detergent treatment. A good metabolic control does not influence neutropenia and its consequences.


Congenital cranial dysinnervation disorders: a concept in evolution.
We review the congenital and genetic diagnoses that are currently included in the congenital cranial dysinnervation disorders (CCDDs). Recent literature contains new genotypic and phenotypic descriptions of Duane retraction syndrome, Moebius syndrome, and other CCDDs. New genes which when mutated can result in CCDD have been identified, permitting a better understanding of associated phenotypes. More information is available regarding neurodevelopmental and clinical effects of various gene mutations associated with individual CCDDs. For certain CCDDs, the phenotype of a particular individual may not completely predict the genotype, and conversely, the genotype may not always predict the phenotype. The CCDD concept has focused attention on specific congenital disturbances of human ocular motility and on the fact that these disorders are typically neurogenic in origin. The past decade has seen rapid evolution within this field with the last 2 years yielding additional information about existing diagnoses, genes, and phenotypes that may result in better classification of these disorders and new genotype-phenotype correlations in the future.


Increasing proportions of Australian gay and homosexually active men engage in unprotected anal intercourse with regular and with casual partners.
We examined trends in sexual practice among gay and homosexually active men in Australia. Self-complete questionnaires were distributed with mail-order sex video catalogues in 2000 and returned anonymously through a reply-paid facility. The data were compared with those from men who responded to promotional material sent out with the same catalogues and who participated in national telephone surveys of men who have sex with men conducted in 1992 and 1996. A key independent variable was gay community attached (GCA) versus non-GCA (NGCA) derived from two items about number of gay friends and amount of free time spent with gay men. Responses came from 1,832 men ranging in age from 16 to 80 (median = 39) years. HIV status was 73% negative, 5% positive, 22% untested; 1,181 men were GCA and 651 men were NGCA. Overall, from 1992 to 2000 there was a significant upward trend in the proportion of men reporting any unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) in the previous six months with regular partners: 21.5%, 24.7%, 46.4% of the total sample (p < 0.001). And similarly for UAI with casual partners: 12.4%, 16.2%, 25.5% (p < 0.001). The upward trends in UAI-regular and UAI-casual were similar and significant (p < 0.001) for both GCA and NGCA men. These nationwide Australian data provide evidence of continuing increases in unprotected anal intercourse with regular and with casual partners. Whereas the majority of men do not engage in any unprotected anal intercourse during a defined interval, ever increasing proportions of them do.


Direct observation of Dirac cone in multilayer silicene intercalation compound CaSi2.
Calcium-intercalated multilayer silicene CaSi2 exhibits a massless Dirac-cone π-electron-band dispersion like graphene, while the Dirac point is about 2 eV away from the Fermi level due to diiimide-based charge transfer from the Ca atoms to the silicene layers. This indicates that the graphene-like electronic structure with a massless Dirac cone is stably formed in the metal-intercalated multilayer silicene.


Use of high-throughput targeted exome sequencing in genetic diagnosis of Chinese family with congenital cataract.
To identify disease-causing mutation in a congenital cataract family using enrichment of targeted genes combined with next-generation sequencing. A total of 371 known genes related to inherited eye diseases of the proband was selected and captured, followed by high-throughput sequencing. The sequencing data were analyzed by established bioinformatics pipeline. Validation was performed by Sanger sequencing. A recurrent heterozygous non-synonymous mutation c.130G>A (p.V44M) in the GJA3 gene was identified in the proband. The result was confirmed by Sanger sequencing. The mutation showed co-segregation with the disease phenotype in the family but was not detected in unaffected controls. Targeted exome sequencing is a rapid, high-throughput and cost-efficient method for screening known genes and could be applied to the routine gene diagnosis of congenital cataract.


ATP synthase from bovine heart mitochondria. In vitro assembly of a stalk complex in the presence of F1-ATPase and in its absence.
Four subunits of the F1F0-ATPase from bovine heart mitochondria have been produced by heterologous over-expression in Escherichia coli. They are the oligomycin sensitivity conferral protein (OSCP), coupling factor 6 (F6) and subunits b and d. Likewise, fragments b', bI, bC, and bM (amino acid residues 79 to 214, 121 to 214, 165 to 214 and 79 to 164, respectively, of subunit b), and fragment d' (subunit d lacking residue 1 to 14) have been produced in abundant quantities by bacterial expression. These subunits, and the fragments of subunits b and d, have been assayed singly and in various combinations by gel-filtration chromatography for their abilities to bind to bovine heart F1-ATPase. Only the OSCP was found to be capable of forming a stable binary complex with F1-ATPase. When fragments b', bI or bC were added to F1-ATPase together with the OSCP, the ternary complexes F1.OSCP.b', F1.OSCP.bI or F1.OSCP.bC were formed, but b', bI and bC appeared to be present in sub-stoichiometric amounts. When F6 was added also, then the stoichiometric quaternary complexes F1.OSCP.b'.F6 and F1.OSCP.bI.F6 were obtained, as was a fourth quaternary complex containing approximately equivalent amounts of F1 and OSCP, and sub-stoichiometric quantities of bC and F6. Finally, three pentameric complexes F1.OSCP.b'.F6.d, F1.OSCP.b'.F6.d' and F1.OSCP.b.F6.d were isolated. In a further series of reconstitution experiments, the binary complexes b'.OSCP and b'.d, the ternary complex b'.d'.F6, and the quaternary complex OSCP.b'.F6.d were obtained. The pre-formed quaternary complex produced a stoichiometric pentameric complex with F1-ATPase. It was shown by S-carboxymethylation of cysteine residues with iodo-[2-14C]acetic acid that bovine F1F0-ATPase and the reconstituted F1.stalk complex, F1.OSCP.b'.d.F6, each contained one copy per complex of subunits b (or b'), OSCP and d, and that the separate stalk complex contained the same three subunits in the approximate molar ratio 1:1:1. The ratio of b to d in purified F0 was 1:1. Finally, it was demonstrated that the binding of the various subunits to F1-ATPase increases the ATP hydrolase activity and diminishes its inactivation by exposure to cold. These assembly experiments help to define some of the inter-subunit interactions in the stalk region of the F1F0-ATPase complex, and they are an essential step forward towards the goal of extending the high-resolution structure of bovine F1-ATPase into the stalk.


Joint classification and segmentation for an interpretable diagnosis of acute respiratory distress syndrome from chest x-rays.
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a life-threatening condition that can cause a dramatic drop in blood oxygen levels due to widespread lung inflammation. Chest radiography is widely used as a primary modality to detect ARDS due to its crucial role in diagnosing the syndrome, and the x-ray images can be obtained promptly. However, despite the extensive literature on chest x-ray (CXR) image analysis, there is limited research on ARDS diagnosis due to the scarcity of ARDS-labeled datasets. Additionally, many machine learning-based approaches result in high performance in pulmonary disease diagnosis, but their decisions are often not easily interpretable, which can hinder their clinical acceptance. This work aims to develop a method for detecting signs of ARDS in CXR images that can be clinically interpretable. To achieve this goal, an ARDS-labeled dataset of chest radiography images is gathered and annotated for training and evaluation of the proposed approach. The proposed deep classification-segmentation model, Dense-Ynet, provides an interpretable framework for automatically diagnosing ARDS in CXR images. The model takes advantage of lung segmentation in diagnosing ARDS. By definition, ARDS causes bilateral diffuse infiltrates throughout the lungs. To consider the local involvement of lung areas, each lung is divided into upper and lower halves, and our model classifies the resulting lung quadrants. The quadrant-based classification strategy yields the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 95.1% (95% CI 93.5 to 96.1), which allows for providing a reference for the model's predictions. In terms of segmentation, the model accurately identifies lung regions in CXR images even when lung boundaries are unclear in abnormal images. This study provides an interpretable decision system for diagnosing ARDS, by following the definition used by clinicians for the diagnosis of ARDS from CXR images.


Synthesis, crystal structures, and magnetic properties of one-dimensional alkali metal copper chlor-tellurites A(NH4)Cu4Te2O6Cl6 (A = K, Cs), NaCu4Te2Cl5O6 and Rb3(NH4)2Cu12Te6Cl16.5O18(OH)0.5.
Four new alkali metal copper chlor-tellurites, [Cs(NH4)]layer[Cu4Te2O6Cl6]layer (I), [Rb3(NH4)2(OH)0.5]layer[Cu12Te6Cl16.5O18]layer (II), [K(NH4)]layer[Cu4Te2O6Cl6]layer (III) and [NaCl]layer[Cu4Te2O6Cl4]layer (IV), have been synthesized via hydrothermal reactions using mixtures of AF (A = Cs, Rb, K, Na), CuCl2·2H2O, TeO2, and hydrazine monohydrate. They have two-dimensional (2D)-layered [Cu4Te2Cl5+x-yO6]∞ (x = 0, 2/3, 1; y = 0, 1/6) structures that are separated by different layers comprised of various cations and anions, including A+, NH4+ Cl- OH-, etc. The blocks feature S-shaped ∞[Cu2O3Cl3-x] chains linked by TeO3 trigonal pyramids. The magnetic susceptibility shows a broad maximum at 220 K for I and 240 K for III, which is well simulated by using an alternating antiferromagnetic chain model. The J2/J1 ratio within the alternating chain is estimated to be 0.60(1), and the spin gaps are refined to be 152 K for I and 136 K for III.


Fasting serum levels of ferritin are associated with impaired pancreatic beta cell function and decreased insulin sensitivity: a population-based study.
Elevated serum ferritin levels are associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, but the nature of this association remains elusive. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that an elevated fasting serum ferritin level is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes due to its association with impaired beta cell function and decreased insulin sensitivity. We investigated 6,392 individuals from the Danish general population. Surrogate measures of beta cell function and insulin sensitivity were calculated for approximately 6,100 individuals based on OGTT examinations. The ORs for type 2 diabetes were 4.2 (95% CI 2.4, 7.2) for the highest vs the lowest quintile of serum ferritin, and 17 (95% CI 8.9, 33) for serum ferritin levels ≥97.5th percentile vs <20th percentile. Elevated serum ferritin levels were associated with elevated plasma glucose levels at 0, 30 and 120 min (p < 0.001), elevated serum insulin levels at 0 and 120 min (p = 0.02 and p < 0.001), decreased beta cell function estimated as the insulinogenic index and corrected insulin response (p < 0.001), and decreased insulin sensitivity estimated by the Matsuda index of insulin sensitivity and HOMA-IR (p < 0.001). Whereas the association with impaired beta cell function was present in both men and women, the association with decreased insulin sensitivity was observed among men and older women but not among younger women. Elevated fasting serum ferritin levels are associated with surrogate measures of both impaired beta cell function and decreased insulin sensitivity. Menopause seems to modify the association with insulin sensitivity.


An optimized 3D inversion recovery prepared fast spoiled gradient recalled sequence for carotid plaque hemorrhage imaging at 3.0 T.
An optimized 3D inversion recovery prepared fast spoiled gradient recalled sequence (IR FSPGR) on a 3-T scanner for carotid plaque imaging is described. It offers clear blood and fat signal suppression at the carotid artery bifurcation and highlights the regions of carotid plaque affected by hemorrhage at 3 T with high contrast and contrast-to-noise ratio compared with other sequences. It can potentially be used to replace the more traditional noncontrast T(1)-weighted 2D black-blood imaging for hemorrhage detection and offers additional benefits of high-resolution 3D volumetric visualization.


Field Test of Twin-Field Quantum Key Distribution through Sending-or-Not-Sending over 428 km.
Quantum key distribution endows people with information-theoretical security in communications. Twin-field quantum key distribution (TF-QKD) has attracted considerable attention because of its outstanding key rates over long distances. Recently, several demonstrations of TF-QKD have been realized. Nevertheless, those experiments are implemented in the laboratory, and therefore a critical question remains about whether the TF-QKD is feasible in real-world circumstances. Here, by adopting the sending-or-not-sending twin-field QKD (SNS-TF-QKD) with the method of actively odd parity pairing (AOPP), we demonstrate a field-test QKD over 428 km of deployed commercial fiber and two users are physically separated by about 300 km in a straight line. To this end, we explicitly measure the relevant properties of the deployed fiber and develop a carefully designed system with high stability. The secure key rate we achieved breaks the absolute key rate limit of repeaterless QKD. The result provides a new distance record for the field test of both TF-QKD and all types of fiber-based QKD systems. Our work bridges the gap of QKD between laboratory demonstrations and practical applications and paves the way for an intercity QKD network with measurement-device-independent security.


C1-2 transarticular screw fixation in high-riding vertebral artery: suggestion of new trajectory.
A significant drawback of atlantoaxial transarticular screw fixation is a potential risk of vertebral artery injury, especially with a high-riding type. The authors propose a relatively safe trajectory in cases of high-riding vertebral artery by using the 3-dimensional computerized tomography image reconstruction programs. Twelve consecutive patients with a pathologic condition in atlantoaxial complex were prospectively analyzed. Five other patients, whose high-riding vertebral arteries were incidentally found during the 3-dimensional computerized tomography performance for other cervical pathologic conditions, were also included. The preoperative screw simulation images, convergence angle, and caudal tilting angle for each screw were obtained from each patient. Of 17 subjects, 7 had high-riding vertebral artery unilaterally and 1 had bilaterally. All 12 patients with pathologic atlantoaxial complex, including 2 unilateral and 1 bilateral high-riding vertebral artery, had atlantoaxial transarticular screw fixation. For these 3 patients, the entry point and the trajectory for screw were moved more superiorly and medially as in cases with C2 pedicle screwing. The mean convergence angle and caudal tilt angle obtained during screw simulation for patients with high-riding vertebral arteries was 17.6 and 38 degrees compared with 21 and 53.3 degrees for patients with normal course of vertebral artery. It was possible to insert transarticular screws safely in patients with high-riding vertebral artery guided by preoperative screw insertion simulation program.


The impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions on premature births during the COVID-19 pandemic: a nationwide observational study in Korea.
Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), such as social distancing and hand washing, have been associated with a decline in the preterm birth rate worldwide. We aimed to evaluate whether the preterm birth rate in Korea during the coronavirus disease 2019 lockdown has changed compared to that in previous years. A birth registry from the Korea Statistical Information Service, which is a nationwide official database, was used to include all births claimed to have occurred between 2011 and 2020. Newborns with gestational age (GA) less than 22 weeks and birth weight less than 220 g were excluded. The pre-NPI period was designated as January 2011 to January 2020, and the NPI period was defined as February 2020 to December 2020. We assessed the effect of NPI on the incidence of prematurity per 100 births using an interrupted time-series quasi-experimental design and implementing an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model. From 2011 to 2020, a total of 3,931,974 live births were registered, among which 11,416 were excluded. Consequently, the final study population included 3,920,558 live births (both singleton and multiple births) among which 275,009 (7.0%) were preterm. The preterm birth rate was significantly higher during the NPI period (8.68%) compared to that in the pre-NPI period (6.92%) (P < 0.001). The ARIMA model showed that in all singleton and multiple births, except those in July (observed 9.24, expected 8.54, [95% prediction interval {PI} 8.13-8.96], percent difference 7.81%), September (observed 7.89, expected 8.35, [95% PI 7.93-8.76], percent difference -5.66%), and December (observed 9.90, expected 9.40, [95% PI 8.98-9.82], percent difference 5.2%), most observed values were within the 95% PI of the expected values and showed an increasing trend. In this nationwide observational study, the trend in premature birth rate did not significantly change due to NPI implementation in Korea, as it had been increasing since 2011. The trend of Korea's birth rate appears to be unaffected by the implementation of NPIs; however, further studies with a longer follow-up period are needed.


Out of hours management of occupational exposures to blood and body fluids in healthcare staff.
To assess and compare the out of hours and in hours management of occupational blood and body fluid exposures in a London teaching hospital. The occupational health and accident and emergency records of individuals presenting with occupational body fluid exposures over a six month period at a London teaching hospital were analysed retrospectively. Main outcome measures were the completeness of records, and the appropriate management of body fluid exposures using the Department of Health guidelines as the gold standard. A total of 177 body fluid exposures were reported; 109 (61.58%) were initially assessed in the occupational health department, and 68 (38.42%) in the accident and emergency department. Of those originally assessed in the accident and emergency department, only 21 (30.88%) attended the occupational health department for follow up. Occupational health staff were more consistent in assessing and managing exposures, and in a higher proportion of cases gave more appropriate advice on post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) against hepatitis B and HIV. Of the 11 individuals prescribed HIV PEP (all by accident and emergency staff), only three subsequently attended occupational health for follow up. In all three cases therapy was discontinued, as the source was HIV negative or the exposure low risk. Out of hours management of occupational body fluid exposures, particularly the prescribing of HIV PEP, was inconsistent with in hours practice. This may also be the case in other large inner city hospitals offering a similar service.


Micro RNA expression and prognosis in low-grade non-invasive urothelial carcinoma.
To analyze a possible correlation between a miRNA expression profile and important prognostic factors for pTa urothelial carcinomas (UC), including tumor size, multiplicity and episodes of recurrence. Thirty low-grade non-invasive pTa bladder UC from patients submitted to transurethral resection were studied, in a mean follow-up of 17.7 months. As controls, we used normal bladder tissue from five patients submitted to retropubic prostatectomy to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia. Extraction, cDNA and amplification were performed for 14 miRNAs (miR-100, -10a, -21, -205, -let7c, -143, -145, -221, -223, -15a, -16, -199a and -452) using specific kits, and RNU-43 and -48 were used as endogenous controls. Statistical tests were used to compare tumor size, multiplicity and episodes of recurrence with miRNAs expression profiles. There was a marginal correlation between multiplicity and miR-let7c over-expression. For all others miRNA no correlation between their expression and prognostic factors was found. We did not find differences for miRNAs expression profiles associated with prognostic factors in tumor group studied. The majority of miRNAs are down-regulated, except mir-10a, over-expressed in most of cases, seeming to have increased levels as tumor with more unfavorable prognostic factors. More studies are needed in order to find a miRNA profile able to provide prognosis in pTa UC to be used in clinical practice.


Cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) and black rats (Rattus rattus) as possible reservoirs of Leishmania spp. in Lara State, Venezuela.
A total of 519 wild animals belonging to eleven species were collected during a two year study in a cutaneous leishmaniasis endemic area in Venezuela (La Matica, Lara State). The animals were captured in home-made Tomahawk-like traps baited with maize, bananas or other available local fruits, and parasites were isolated from 27 specimens. Two different species were found naturally infected with flagellates, i.e., cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) and black rats (Rattus rattus). Characterization of the parasites using PCR, kDNA restriction pattern and hybridization with species-specific probes revealed the presence of Leishmania (L.) mexicana in three of the black rats and Leishmania (V.) braziliensis in two others. The latter species was also identified in the single positive specimen of S. hispidus. The results suggested both species of animals as possible reservoirs of Leishmania sp.


Multitarget inhibitors derived from crosstalk mechanism involving VEGFR2.
Seven VEGFR small-molecule inhibitors have been approved by the US FDA as anticancer drugs, which confirms the therapeutic value of angiogenesis inhibitors. However, much more evidence indicates that VEGFR inhibition alone is usually not sufficient to block the tumor progress. The potential of some agents targeting VEGFR owes partially to the simultaneous inhibition of additional targets in other signaling pathways. In this review, the crosstalk between VEGFR2 and the additional targets in other signaling pathways, such as EGFR, MET, FGFR, PDGFR, c-Kit, Raf, PI3K and HDAC, and the synergistic effects derived from multitarget activities against these crosstalks are discussed. We also briefly describe the multitarget inhibitors in clinical trials or reported in the literature and patents under the different multitarget categories involving VEGFR2.


Therapy-induced E-cadherin downregulation alters expression of programmed death ligand-1 in lung cancer cells.
Immunotherapy that targets the programmed death-1/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) axis has been approved for treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients in many countries. However, our current understanding of the role of immunotherapies on NSCLC patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation, following acquisition of resistance to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), is so far unclear. Especially, there is little data on if each acquired resistance mechanism to EGFR-TKIs alters PD-L1 expression status which is employed as an important predictive biomarker for PD-1/PD-L1 targeting agents. Lung cancer cell lines (HCC827, HCC4006, PC9, H1975, H358, SW900, and H647) and their daughter cells that acquired resistance to EGFR-TKIs or cytotoxic drugs (cisplatin or vinorelbine) were examined. PD-L1 expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry, immunoblotting, and/or fluorescent imaging. Published microarray data were also employed to evaluate our findings. We found correlations between therapy-induced E-cadherin downregulation and decreased PD-L1 expression using our cell lines and published microarray data. ShRNA mediated E-cadherin knockdown decreased PD-L1 expression in parental cells, and dual immunofluorescent staining of E-cadherin and PD-L1 suggests co-localization of both molecules. We also observed marked downregulation of PD-L1 in cells with E-cadherin downregulation after chronic treatment with vinorelbine. These results indicate a correlation between therapy-induced E-cadherin downregulation and decreased PD-L1 expression, highlighting the importance of re-biopsy after acquisition of resistance to EGFR-TKIs, not only for the evaluation of resistance mechanisms but also for the determination of PD-L1 expression status.


Investigation of nosocomial infections by plasmid analysis.
Molecular biological techniques, including agarose gel electrophoresis, restriction endonuclease analysis and DNA-DNA hybridization (Southern blotting and heteroduplex analysis) are being applied very successfully to the investigation of nosocomial infections. 'Plasmid fingerprinting' by electrophoresis, with or without restriction endonuclease analysis, can be used to identify epidemic strains of bacteria and 'epidemic plasmids' which have spread through several different bacterial species. This technique is rapid and inexpensive, and can be applied to drug-sensitive as well as resistant strains. This approach is especially useful for investigation of organisms for which no standard typing system is available. DNA-DNA hybridization techniques can be used to study the evolution of plasmids in the hospital environment, and to demonstrate the presence and spread of translocatable DNA sequences (transposons) carrying drug resistance determinants from plasmid to plasmid within a bacterial cell.


Towards optimizing prostate tissue retrieval following holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP): Assessment of two morcellators and review of literature.
We assess different approaches to retrieve the enucleated adenoma after transurethral enucleation of the prostate, particularly using the holmium laser. A retrospective review through our prospectively maintained database was performed looking for safety and efficacy of two morcellators. The enucleation phase of the holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) was classically performed followed by retrieval of the intravesical adenoma using either the Piranha (Wolf Inc., Knittlingen, Germany) or VersaCut (Lumenis) morcellator. A PubMed-MEDLINE search was conducted for all transurethral enucleation procedures and relevant data regarding methods of prostate tissue retrieval were extracted. Strictly limiting the study to 3 reusable blades with each morcellator, we performed 67 and 55 consecutive procedures with Piranha and VersaCut, respectively. There was no significant difference between the two morcellators regarding perioperative complications, apart from 5 bladder mucosal injuries with the VersaCut (9%). Furthermore, there were similar retrieved tissue weight, mechanical problems-rate, catheter-time and hospital-stay in both morcellators. However, the Piranha morcellator needed significantly less morcellation-time, needed to use cold loop to remove non-morcellated pieces and to score the adenoma by laser for better bite of the adenoma, and had a higher median morcellation-rate 6.2 (rate: 2.8-12) g/min. Despite little reporting on morcellation, we had data on the tissue retrieval rate (2.6 to 6.5 g/min with Piranha and 1.9 to 11 g/min with VersaCut. Furthermore, bladder mucosal injury was reported in 1.4% and 0.7 to 5.7% with Piranha and VersaCut, respectively; bladder perforation with VersaCut was experienced in about 0.1 to 1.5% of patients. Our study is limited by its non-randomization. The Piranha morcellator was the most efficient and safe way to retrieve tissue after a transurethral enucleation of a prostate adenoma.


Physicochemical Evidence on Sublethal Neonicotinoid Imidacloprid Interacting with an Odorant-Binding Protein from the Tea Geometrid Moth, Ectropis obliqua.
Nowadays the excessive usage of neonicotinoid insecticides always results in residues in Chinese tea fields. It is not clear whether the insecticide residue at the sublethal level influences the physiological processes of tea pests. Here, we provide evidence of interaction between the neonicotinoid imidacloprid and a general odorant-binding protein, EoblGOBP2, from the tea geometrid moth, Ectropis obliqua. The interacting process was demonstrated through multiple fluorescence spectra, UV absorption spectra, circular dichroism (CD) spectra, molecular docking, etc. The binding mode was determined to be static (from 300 to 310 K) and dynamic quenching (from 290 to 300 K). The binding distance was calculated to be 6.9 nm on the basis of FRET theory. According to the thermodynamic analysis, the process was mainly driven by enthalpy (ΔH < 0), and hydrogen bond and van der Waals interactions were the main driving forces in the static and dynamic binding cases, respectively. Moreover, synchronous fluorescence spectra and CD spectra analysis showed stretching of the EoblGOBP2 peptide chains with a decreasing α-helix when imidacloprid was added. Molecular docking was applied and predicted that two hydrogen bonds were formed between imidacloprid and Arg110 in the mature peptide of EoblGOBP2. Moreover, when the absolute amounts of EoblGOBP2 in the moth antennae were measured and calculated by using real-time PCR, it was estimated that imidacloprid at sublethal level (about 0.233 and 0.175 ng/male and female moth antennae, respectively) inhibited the binding of a tea volatile, E-2-hexenal, to EoblGOBP2 at about half. This study indicates that neonicotinoid insecticide at sublethal level may still affect the olfactory cognition of the tea geometrid moth to volatile compounds from tea leaves.


Incidence of functional decline and improvement in a community-dwelling, very elderly population.
With the aging of the population, functional decline is one of the major challenges to health care systems. The objective of this study was to estimate the incidence of functional decline and improvement in a community-dwelling population of people aged 75 years and above. A representative sample of elderly people living at home in the city of Sherbrooke (Québec, Canada) was assessed yearly on three occasions (1991-1993) by a nurse. Disabilities were measured by the Functional Autonomy Measurement System, a 29-item rating scale developed according to the World Health Organization classification of disabilities. From the 655 subjects who agreed to participate, a total of 572 subjects completed the study, including 68 who subsequently died. The probability of declining was 20.1% for the first year and 12.4% for the second year. The incidence of functional decline among previously stable subjects was 11.9% (95% confidence interval (CI) 8.9-15.9). Age was strongly related to decline (relative risk (RR) = 1.15/year, 95% CI 1.09-1.21), but there was no significant sex effect (RRmale = 0.88, 95% CI 0.55-1.39). The incidence of improvement among previously disabled subjects was estimated at 7.5% (95% CI 5.1-10.9) for the first year and 17.9% (95% CI 14.0-23.0) for the second year. Neither age (RR = 1.07, 95% CI 0.99-1.15) nor sex (RRmale = 1.70, 95% CI 0.90-3.18) was significantly associated with the probability of improving. This study stresses the importance of precise measurement of disabilities and the complex and dynamic process of functional transitions.


Expression of HSP70 gene in rat brain after exposures to repeated +Gz.
To study the changes of mRNA expression of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) in the rat brain exposed to repeated +Gz. The mRNA expression levels of HSP70 in rat brain were measured by semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The HSP70 mRNA expression levels in rat brains taken 30 min and 6 h after repeated +Gz exposures were significantly higher than those in control group, while the difference between the levels of control group and those of experimental rat brains taken 24 h after +Gz exposure was not significant. It is suggested that HSP70 mRNA expression in rat brain can be induced by repeated +Gz exposures and the increased HSP70 mRNA expression may play an important role in self-protection against brain damage induced by +Gz exposures.


The impact of intermittent pneumatic compression devices on deep venous flow velocity in patients with congestive heart failure.
Intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) has been used to prevent deep venous thrombosis (DVT), but the effects of IPC on the hemodynamics of popliteal and soleal veins, especially in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) have not been evaluated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of IPC on the flow velocity of deep veins in the lower extremities and to compare the efficacy of two different types of IPC in deep venous flow enhancement in patients with CHF. Flow velocities of popliteal and soleal veins were recorded in 19 patients with CHF and in 19 control subjects using a high-resolution linear probe. Peak and mean flow velocities were measured (1) at rest, (2) with sequential foot and calf IPC (SFC-IPC) which consists of an electrically driven air compressor and four air chambers, and (3) with impulse foot IPC (IF-IPC) which consists of a pneumatic impulse generator operated at an applied pressure of 130 mmHg. In the resting condition, popliteal venous flow velocity in the CHF group was attenuated (12.8+/-4.7 cm/s vs. 21.1+/-13.5 cm/s; p<0.05). Both SFC-IPC and IF-IPC increased venous velocity, but the increase with IF-IPC in CHF patients was lower than that in control subjects. In the soleal veins, after applying SFC-IPC, the peak and mean velocity in CHF increased to the same extent as in the control group. IF-IPC increased soleal venous velocity in control subjects, but there was no increase in CHF patients. Two-dimensional Doppler scanning revealed a significant increase in the mean and peak velocities in the soleal and popliteal veins with SFC-IPC but not with IF-IPC in patients with CHF. These results indicate that SFC-IPC could have favorable effects in preventing DVT in patients with CHF.


Use of potato disc and brine shrimp bioassays to detect activity and isolate piceatannol as the antileukemic principle from the seeds of Euphorbia lagascae.
EtOH extracts of the seeds of Euphorbia lagascae inhibited crown gall tumors on potato discs, were active against 3PS (in vivo) and 9PS (in vitro) mouse leukemia, and were toxic to brine shrimp. Using the potato disc and brine shrimp bioassays to monitor fractionation, piceatannol (3,4,3',5'- tetrahydroxystilbene ) was isolated as the 3PS active principle. Aesculetin (6,7-dihydroxycoumarin) was isolated in large quantity, was weakly cytotoxic in 9KB , but was inactive in the other bioassay systems. Sucrose was also isolated. A combination of the simple crown gall and brine shrimp bioassays can thus be used both to detect and to isolate plant antitumor substances, minimizing the need for extensive antitumor testing in vivo.


Higher lactate production from glucose in cultured adipose nucleated stromal cells than for rat adipocytes.
White adipose tissue (WAT) nucleated stromal cells (NSC) play important roles in regulation, defense, regeneration and metabolic control. In WAT sites, the proportions and functions of NSC change under diverse physiological or pathologic conditions. We had previously observed the massive anaerobic wasting of glucose to lactate and glycerol in rat epididymal adipocytes. To test site variability, and whether the adipocyte extensive anaerobic metabolism of glucose was found in NSC, we analyzed, in parallel, subcutaneous, mesenteric and epididymal WAT of male adult Wistar rats. Adipocytes and NSC fractions, were isolated, counted and incubated (as well as red blood cells: RBC) with glucose, and their ability to use glucose and produce lactate, glycerol, and free fatty acids was measured. Results were computed taking into account the number of cells present in WAT samples. Cell numbers were found in proportions close to 1:13:100 (respectively, for adipocytes, NSC and RBC) but their volumes followed a reversed pattern: 7,500:10:1. When counting only non-fat cell volumes, the ratios changed dramatically to 100:10:1. RBC contribution to lactate production was practically insignificant. In most samples, NSC produced more lactate than adipocytes did, but only adipocytes secreted glycerol (and fatty acids in smaller amounts). Glucose consumption was also highest in NSC, especially in mesenteric WAT. The heterogeneous NSC showed a practically anaerobic metabolism (like that already observed in adipocytes). Thus, NSC quantitative production of lactate markedly contributed (i.e. more than adipocytes) to WAT global use (wasting) of glucose. We also confirmed that glucose-derived glycerol is exclusively produced by adipocytes.


Chalcogens-Induced Ag6Z4@Ag36 (Z = S or Se) Core-Shell Nanoclusters: Enlarged Tetrahedral Core and Homochiral Crystallization.
Control over core structure is much more challenging than that over shell structure in core-shell silver nanoclusters. Herein, two isostructural chalcogen-mediated [Ag6Z4@Ag36] (Z = S or Se) nanoclusters (SD/Ag42a and SD/Ag42b) caging tetrahedral [Ag6Z4] as cores were synthesized by introducing Ph3CSH or Ph3PSe as slow-release source of S2- or Se2-, respectively, and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD). As compared to the previously reported [AgS4@Ag36] cluster (Ag37), we found that introducing additional S2- or Se2- ions can effectively enlarge the inner core from tetrahedral AgS4 to Ag6Z4, which is a regular octahedron of silver with four Z2- capping on one tetrahedral set of four faces. More interestingly, the molecular enantiomers of SD/Ag42a and SD/Ag42b segregate into different crystals (P212121), while those of Ag37 form racemic crystals (I41/acd). The larger Ag6Z4 core in Ag42 clusters also extends their emission to the near-infrared region (∼760 nm). The study confirms that chalcogenide can enlarge the nuclearity of nanoclusters by altering the inner core structure and affords a new strategy to synthesize chiral core-shell silver nanoclusters of higher-order in controlled fashion.


A psychometric analysis of a newly developed summative, multiple choice question assessment adapted from Canada to a Middle Eastern context.
Accreditation necessitates that assessment methods reflect the standards established by the accrediting body. The process of adapting assessments to a new context can present unique challenges with uncertainty around psychometric defensibility of the adapted exam. A psychometric analysis of a summative multiple-choice-question (MCQ) assessment, adapted from Canada, for graduating pharmacy students from a Canadian accredited program in Qatar was conducted. Rates of difficult items, item discrimination measured by point biserial correlation (rpb), and non-functioning distractors (NFDs) were calculated to identify deficiencies and challenges with an adapted exam. Challenges encountered throughout the adaption process and recommendations were documented. Overall score of a 90-item, four option, MCQ exam ranged from 46.7% to 78.9% (mean of 61.9%). For difficulty, there were 17 items with less than 30% of students answering correctly, while 29 items had unacceptable or poor discrimination (rpb < 0.1). NFDs occurred in 78 items with 49 containing at least two NFDs. Difficulty of the exam was deemed acceptable yet discriminator ability requires improvement. The high frequency of questions with NFDs suggests that faculty have difficulty developing plausible distractors for an adapted MCQ exam. This could be due to a lack of training or requirement for inclusion of too many distractor options. While it is feasible to implement an assessment adapted from a different learning environment, measures need to be taken to improve psychometric defensibility. The high number of questions with NFDs indicates that the current method of exam development does not encourage the incorporation of functional distractors.